NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. – For some Bulldogs Saturday (Jan. 31)’s Sioux City Open represented one final chance this season to compete in tournament action. A group of 12 competitors from Concordia University, Nebraska Wrestling combined for 15 wins at the tournament that featured wrestlers from more than 40 institutions. Simon Arredondo and Gabe Lujan paced the Bulldogs with three wins apiece in North Sioux City, S.D.
Head Coach Josh Watts and top assistant Isaiah Crosby used the tournament in part to evaluate which individuals are worthy of consideration for the GPAC Championships roster. The 12 Concordia grapplers who helped the team to a third-place finish at last week’s Missouri Valley Invite had the weekend off. In Saturday’s action, Watts saw growth from a young group deployed in North Sioux City.
Both Arredondo and Lujan were two wins away from reaching third-place matches within their respective brackets of the Sioux City Open. At 125 pounds, Lujan dropped his first match before rattling off three victories in a row. That run included a pin over teammate Aidan Trowbridge. Both of Lujan’s defeats came at the hands of foes outside of the NAIA. In the 165-pound bracket, Arredondo toppled two GPAC opponents (Hastings/Waldorf) and also took a 12-10 decision from an NCAA Division II foe.
A trio of Bulldogs came away with two wins each: Trowbridge (2-2 at 125), Aaron Wilson (2-2 at 157) and Ramon Arredondo (2-2 at 184). Concordia filled up the 157- and 184-pound weight classes with three wrestlers apiece. One win each was notched by Braysen Salinas (149), Blaine Boehmer (184) and Chason Turner (184). In sum, eight of the 12 Bulldogs entered into the Sioux City Open posted at least one victory.
In the final outing prior to the GPAC Championships, the Bulldogs will take on three conference foes as part of GPAC Day of Duals No. 2 hosted by Doane on Feb. 7. In Crete, Concordia (5-1, 4-1 GPAC) will clash with (in order) Northwestern, Morningside and Dakota Wesleyan. The first dual is slated to get underway at 11 a.m.